Sunshine and Sparkling Ice
by Ripplingstorm
Summary: A small collection of Gruvia one-shots for Gruvia Fluff Fest 2015. Second story summary: After a particularly bad morning during which he beat up two thieves which escalated into a whole dark guild, Gray drags himself back into the guild hall wanting only a drink from Mira. What he gets is being forced to go on an impromptu mission due to a single, mindless word. Day 6: daydream.
1. Cookies and Kraft Dinner

**Author's Note:** Hello! This story is just a series of unconnected one-shots and perhaps drabbles focused on Gray and Juvia. I wrote this one for the Gruvia Fluff Fest 2015 (Tumblr). The theme is "milk and cookies", day five.

This is a real world AU in which Gray works at Fairy Tail, a business, and Juvia, who works in the same building, is his fiancée.

 **Summary:** All Gray wants is to do something nice for his fiancée, but nope, life just had to get in the way. Alternately, in which Gray is pissed at snow and utterly fails at cooking. Good thing Juvia comes to his rescue. The irony of that isn't lost on Gray.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any aspect recognizable as a part of Fairy Tail. I just own the the writing, nothing more.

* * *

 _Cookies and Kraft Dinner_

The moment he stepped out of the building, Gray frowned before letting slip a very uncultured word. "Fuck."

It was snowing. Now normally, that wouldn't have bothered him very much – he was a winter person, but today was different. Most days, especially when snow drifted lazily for hours on end and even if a blizzard raged, he would watch with a sense of calm and mild pleasantness. Today though, the thick blanket of glittering white snow covering his car put him a rather terrible mood.

Well, worse than it already was. Of all days, the skies just chose to unleash twenty inches of snow _today_. He needed to get home, dammit! With all the snow, there was no way he would be able to arrive home at even his regular time, much less the hour early arrival he had planned for today! Plus, it was Friday, and everyone went crazy on Fridays and more traffic than normal ensued. Granted, Magnolia was on the smaller side as far as cities went, but still. Not to mention the slower speed most people will be driving at today. It really couldn't be worse – oh wait, he hadn't gone to change the tires for his car yet.

Belatedly, Gray realized exactly what day it was. It was Friday. December 13. He didn't really believe in superstitions, but with everything that had gone on today, both at work and home, he was really starting to wonder if the day really did have a legitimate bad luck trend. First, there was Juvia, then Natsu, getting whacked in the head by his supervisor, Erza, the snow storm, and Friday, and then forgetting to change his tires.

"Well, fuck my life."

Gray sighed heavily before trudging from the office building towards his car, mood progressively worsening as snow brushed against his ankles. His coat billowed in the biting winter wind – it was December 13, for god's sake; it shouldn't be _this_ cold yet! – and his raven hair blew across his eyes in thick locks before he shoved it up in frustration.

Grabbing the snow brush, starting the ignition and slamming the passenger door before snow could find home inside his car, Gray started to methodically and harshly flinging snow off his (very precious) car while hoping Natsu or someone infuriating wouldn't come out until he left. He didn't need to be antagonized any further.

Fate must have thought his life didn't suck enough though, because just as he got into his car after minutes of snow flinging, Natsu Dragneel, the pink-headed bastard, exited the building with a few papers and started toward his car with an air of purpose and a very dangerous look. Not that Gray was intimidated, nope. Just flippin' tired and immensely irritated.

"OI! ICE PRICK! Where the HELL do you THINK you're going?!"

Gray slammed the driver's door and semi-calmly drove out of the parking lot, leaving his pissed off co-worker glaring twin holes in his bumper. He had far more important things to do than deal with a furious Dragneel.

* * *

As soon as he got home, Gray habitually removed his coat at the front door with so much a cursory thought before very quietly slipping into his bedroom, unknowingly stripping along the way. All the curtains were drawn, the only light being the strip that was flowing in from the open door.

Gray looked on at the sleeping figure in his bed, slim figure hidden under swaths of blankets. Juvia's blue hair was splayed out on the pillow, her body curled in on itself. Eyes closed, cheeks red and lips parted in troubled breathing, she still looked beautiful. He silently padded over. He leaned over the sick girl in his bed and brushed her hair away with a gentle hand. Placing a soft kiss on her fever red cheek, he turned, silently closed the bedroom door and went to work.

* * *

Whoever said that cooking was easy as long as you followed the cookbook totally and completely lied, Gray decided. Big time.

He stood staring at the disgusting looking pot of swirling… stuff on the stove and silently made yet another note to compliment Juvia on her cooking more. Because even though Gray loved cinnamon and Juvia disliked it, her cooking was nothing short of divine, and far more superior to the gloppy mess in front of him that was supposed to be spaghetti sauce. Between that and the fail of far overcooked noodles, Gray just decided to give up for the rest of his hopeless-at-cooking life.

He slowly clicked the stovetop surface to "off" when a hint of burning sent him into a frenzy. He jerked back from the stove like it grew fangs and was snapping them before wrenching the hinged oven door open and yanked out a tray of unrecognizable, distinctly burned things.

Gray hastily dropped the tray on the stovetop next to his fail of spaghetti making – the tray was burning his hands, damn it, and inspected the black, charred lumps on the cookie tray. They were _supposed_ to be cookies, but… might as well be ashes now. Gray threw his hands up in frustration as he backed away.

"Fuck. Fuck it all! Fuck. It. All! I give up!" He grabbed the rejected cookie tray and set it on the table. Then, slumped into a chair, he proceeded to toss charred lumps of cookie at the wall in a despairing state of ever getting cooking right. He just wanted to cook for his girl, who was _sick_ , damn it! Fate had a rather terrible sense of humour. He and Juvia always had cookies and milk on Friday nights! Now, on top of _Natsu_ , there would be no cookies. Damn it all.

"Why is it that every single time I try to do something nice, it always get tossed back in my face with added terribleness," Gray muttered. "I just want to cook for her, but everything shitty just has to add itself to my futile attempts. Fuck. What a terrible day. I even messed up the cookies. Fuck, no one messes up cookies, except me, apparently. God, what am I going to do for dinner? Juvia won't want Kraft dinner, especially not when she's sick! What do I do?! Fuck!"

"Gray-sama?" A soft, tentative voice sounded behind as another burned cookie left his hands to sail towards the wall.

Gray jumped up and whirled around, eyes widening as he saw his fiancée standing there, blinking blearily up at him. "Shit," he exclaimed, as he did his best to shove the tray of failure behind his back and out of her line of sight. Then he smiled at her brightly, trying to hide his shame at having failed so badly and un-epically. "Hey, Juvia! How are you now?"

"M'okay…"

At her tired response, Gray rushed over, cookies forgotten, to pat her all over for any external signs of her fever worsening. To his relief, her body temperature seemed to have lowered, if only slightly. He smiled, leaning his cool forehead down to touch against her hot, fevered one. "Juvia… glad you're doing better."

Juvia smiled back in contentment, gazing at Gray through hazy eyes, though with all her usual adoration. She reached up a tired arm, her movement sluggish, to pat his face. "Gray-sama." Then, her eyes snapped wide open, a sense of alarm overcoming her. The overwhelming burning smell had finally reached his stuffy nose. "Gray-sama?!"

Gray stiffened momentarily against Juvia before pulling away and slumping back into the chair he previously occupied. "Sorry Juvia, I tried to cook for you, but…"

She gasped as she padded over into the kitchen. Gray threw an arm over his eyes in tiredness, not wanting to see her horrified expression.

Juvia stared at the two pots of Gray's attempts at cooking. Based on appearances, he had tried to make spaghetti but took a wrong turn somewhere. And looking at the ingredients spread around, she guessed he had also tried to make cookies. Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, because they were her favourite. Because it was Friday. Juvia sniffed, affection and love welling up in her like a tidal wave. He… her precious Gray-sama thought to take care of her? That was so sweet! Of course, he didn't really do so well, but it was the thought that counted! And in Juvia's eyes, she didn't care about what anyone else had to say, everything Gray-sama did was wonderful. Even if he did burn the cookies and proceeded to throw them at the wall in frustration, she thought as she took note of black smears on the wall of the dining room.

Juvia sniffed again, and her face broke out into a large smile. She looked at her Gray, who was half naked and looking very spectacular indeed, with his arm over his eyes and concluded that he must be feeling terrible. She walked silently, ignoring the pounding in her head and the sway in her step as she made her way over to him.

"Gray-sama," she murmured, soft, warm hands pulling at his arm. Gray obliged and stood as she tugged at his hands. "Juvia wants to give Gray-sama a hug."

Gray stood as Juvia delivered one of her affectionate bear hugs, her slim arms wrapped tightly around his torso. Her strength surprised him. Her slim, sick self shouldn't have this much strength, but then again, if she derived it from the capacity of her love, then that strength would be limitless and very powerful indeed. Gray smiled gently down at the beloved blue head pressed against his chest. "Juvia…"

"Thank you for taking care of Juvia, Gray-sama. Juvia is very appreciative. Juvia wants you to know that Juvia loves Gray-sama very much!" Juvia lifted her head to look up at him, eyes sparkling. "Juvia loves you very much!" Suddenly, Juvia felt her discomfort melting away.

Natsu might call him an ice prick, but all Gray did was completely melt as the girl before him once again reminded him why he loved her. She was just so… adorable, lovable, affectionate, beautiful, caring, kind, _a good cook_ ; the list went on and on. And she didn't care that he burned her favourite type of cookie and ruined what was supposed to be their dinner. _God, I love her._

"It's okay, Gray-sama. Cooking is not very easy. But since it's Friday, and we always have cookies and milk together on the couch together on Fridays, Juvia will solve this problem."

Gray watched a little confounded as she walked over to the cupboards and pulled out a package of chocolate chip cookies from the top shelf. Gray felt his mouth open in surprise. "What…?"

Juvia shot a sly sideways glance. "Juvia has been saving these for a day when Juvia is not able to bake them." She opened the packaging to reveal row upon row of chocolate chip cookies. Gray stared at her, greatly amazed by her planning and preparation for such a day.

"Juvia, you're – you're amazing, you know that?"

She blushed, before shoving the package at him. He took it, before moving to grab the milk from the refrigerator. Juvia took two cups and poured the milk. Gray put them in the microwave and handed a cookie to Juvia. She took it with delicate hands, mouth closing around it delectably. Gray stared.

He couldn't help himself. He leaned down and close to her face, causing another blush to erupt on her cheeks. Gently, he scraped his teeth on the cookie caught between hers, noses brushing up against each other, and took a bite out of her cookie. It tasted delicious.

By the time he stood back up, Juvia's face boasted a fierce blush. "G-G-Gray-sama!" Gray smirked. It was good knowing he could make his fiancée blush with little things like that.

The microwave beeped, reminding both of them that they still had evening plans. Gray placed the cookie container on the table reached to drag out two cups of warm milk.

"Juvia will put some cookies on a plate," Juvia announced, face still a shade of pink. Gray retained his smile as he nodded and walked over to the couch. She soon joined him, and in no time, they were cuddled comfortably on the couch. Juvia's body was warm, just slightly unnaturally so, but it was a rather nice contrast to Gray's own cool body. She was warm, while he was not. It was beautiful in its own way.

They lay there, curled up against each other, talking about work and friends, and then murmuring sweet nothings to each other as they dipped cookies into each other's cups and shoved copious amounts of soft, mushy cookie into each other's mouths.

"Gray-sama, thank you for trying. Juvia love you a lot for that too. Juvia is not hungry, don't worry."

It was Gray's turn to blush. "Y-yeah, no problem. I just wanted to help. I'll clean up later, don't worry."

"Mmhmm. Juvia will help."

"No. I won't allow it. You just sit and watch and be comfortable."

"If that's what Gray-sama wants."

"It is."

They continued like that for a while, until Gray's stomach decided to remind its owner that it hadn't been fed since lunch. Juvia giggled and poked his bare torso. "Hungry?"

Gray muttered a single word of "Yeah." He sighed, remembering the mess of spaghetti sauce on the stovetop. But he knew for a fact that he _could_ make macaroni and cheese. He basically lived on that stuff during university years. They had a few boxes of it too… then again, it had been a while… anyhow…

"Okay, Juvia, I'm going to make mac and cheese, do you want some?"

"No, Juvia is not hungry. But Juvia will help you make it," she said as she lifted herself from Gray's lap.

"No, you stay here and rest. You're sick, so let me pamper you for once."

"Juvia insists." Juvia, with a pointed stare, had Gray reconsidering his options. "Juvia does not mean to sound mean, but you do not really know how to cook. Juvia will help."

Gray's resolve withered. She was right; he would probably find some ridiculous way to ruin even mac'n cheese, if evidence from recent attempts were anything to go by. Besides, he trusted that Juvia would know her limits, so…

"Okay. You can help me," Gray mumbled a little bashfully. Juvia nodded, blue curls bouncing, a grin making its way across her cute face. "Juvia gets to cook with Gray-sama!"

Juvia grabbed his hand and led him into the kitchen, almost empty cups and a plate devoid of cookies all but forgotten. She turned his smiled up to him. Gray smiled back.


	2. Because of an Unintentional Confession

**Authors Note:** Hello again. This one-shot is for day six of Gruvia Fluff Fest. The theme is "daydream." Once again, I prove myself unable to write a short drabble. XD

 _ **Summary:**_ After a particularly bad morning during which he beat up two thieves which escalated into a whole dark guild, Gray drags himself back into the guild hall wanting only a drink from Mira. What he gets instead is being forced to go on an impromptu job request after a single, mindless word.

I dunno if Gray and Mira and even Juvia are in character or not... But just a note; I imagined this to take place sometime (anytime, really) after the Tartaros Arc, after all those adorable as hell Gruvia moments.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own anything recognizable as belonging to Fairy Tail. Just the writing.

* * *

The italicized section is the "flashback" of sorts.

* * *

 _Because of an Unintentional Confession_

It was a fine day the day everything came to light. No, actually, it was better than fine. It was _spectacular –_ not really, but it sounded more dramatic that way – until he was forced to grab a random job request and shoot out the door, pretending like he couldn't hear what Mira was screaming. Now, normally, having things coming into the light was good and all, but about this particular subject… it must have totally ruined his reputation as an ice prick. Not that that was a _bad_ thing, per se – well, it could be, depending on the person – but Gray rather liked the times when no one in the guild bothered him much about a certain water mage (except Mira) or went around singing embarrassing love songs as they slyly danced around him or saying "I told you so" and exchanging money for bets lost and won.

Yes, it was safe to say that Gray really missed those days. When it came down to it, he decided as he resisted the urge to bang his head on the window of the train travelling away from Magnolia, it was all Mira's fault. Totally and indisputably Mira's fault.

The still unknown job request clutched in his hand, Gray spared a second to wonder if Mira – the she-demon – had alerted the client yet. A second later and self assured about that topic, Gray's thoughts drifted toward those calm moments leading up to his major embarrassment and then the happened of said embarrassment, before he bolted.

It went something like this.

* * *

 _Gray walked into the guild hall, warm afternoon sunlight streaming through the open doors. The normal chatter filled the large hall with constant sound, and though he found it annoying at times, all the small talk happening had an interesting calming effect on the ice mage. The low buzz of conversation almost brought a smile to his face._

 _Tired as hell after a gruelling solo mission – he had dispatched a small, recently formed dark guild only hours earlier – he trudged into the guild hall without purpose nor aim other than the sole goal of getting a drink, preferably one of Mira's famous cocktails. No alcohol, of course. No one paid him any mind other than the initial shouts of "Hey, it's Gray!" and "Oh, Gray's back!" Maybe he got a few sympathetic looks as he went by after his supposedly easy mission became a lot more complicated, but if that was the case, he didn't notice a single thing._

 _Gray dropped himself on one of the bar counter's stools with zero grace, body slumping forward, cheek smashing against the countertop with force. At Mira's poke of concern, he lifted his head, dull, dark blue eyes staring back at Mira's bright blue ones with no energy._

 _Mira stared, bent down at eye level to Gray's face, which was still resting on the counter. Gray stared back. Mira tilted her head and blinked, scrutinizing the bruises decorating his face and neck, his tangled, wind-blown hair and the dark circles under his tired eyes. Gray kept staring back through half-lidded eyes._

" _Gray?" Mirajane's soft voice penetrated through the thick haze over his mind._

" _Whaaa?" he responded very intelligently._

" _Are you okay? Wait, no, that's a bad question," she amended. "Would you like help in bandaging your wounds," she continued, eyes landing wearily on his blood covered arms._

" _S'not my blood."_

" _Then would you like something to drink?"_

 _Gray, with great effort, heaved himself upright and away from slouching all over the counter. Tired he may be, but pathetic he was not. "Yes please. Cocktail. Don't care what kind."_

 _Mira nodded in approval. "Coming right up."_

 _As she moved around, Gray propped his head on his right hand, left hand fumbling to remove his shirt. He let his thoughts drift aimlessly, shutting out virtually everything going on around him and trying not to fall asleep._

 _Thank god Natsu wasn't in the guild today, he mused. He just didn't have any energy at all to fight that battle prone pyro. Erza as well; she would have smacked him over the head in her misguided, genuine attempt to keep him alert and awake. Wendy wasn't in the guild, a fact which Gray briefly mourned before berating himself over it, because it wasn't Wendy's job to heal them all every time one of them got a minor cut._

 _He couldn't have cared less about anyone else being there or not. Not Warren, not Wakaba, not Kiana, nor even Mira. It was pretty much a given that Mirajane was always behind the bar counter. None of them would be able to turn his mood crappier. Just Natsu._

 _That flaming idiot was probably out on a job or something, not that Gray cared much, though it did explain the very glaring absence of loud shouting, bang of tables being thrown and heat. UGH, the HEAT. Gray hated it, especially during the summertime. Thank god he had his own way of dealing with it, though on particularly warm days, his ice, if not made with enough magic, would melt quickly._

 _Mira placed a glass of strawberry-raspberry-cranberry cocktail in front of him. "Enjoy," she said cheerily before patting his head and moving away._

 _Gray muttered his thanks as he drew the drink closer to him, pleased to see ice cubes in his drink. He stirred the red liquid mindlessly with the blue straw stuck in the glass as he watched the ice melt. It melted quite quickly, much to his disappointment, and he frowned as condensation gathered on the outside of the glass and ran down to the counter, cold drops of water wetting his fingertips._

 _As he took a sip and revelled in the feeling of the cold, sweet cocktail wash down his throat, he pondered about water. More specifically, about Juvia and whether she preferred cold water or hot water or just room temperature water. Speaking of whom… Juvia wasn't in the guild either… To be honest, Gray kind of missed her constant presence and love declarations._

 _It could get annoying at times, but he was just so used to her energy that without her around, the guild felt off. Different. Offhandedly, the very worn out and tired Gray wondered when Juvia would arrive at the guild hall. Soon, he hoped._

 _Then, somehow and without his notice, he began wondering when Juvia had become a part, a constant factor in his life. And when he had accepted it. It was strange to think about. The harder he thought, the more he realized that he really couldn't tell. She was just there all the time, and one day, it was strange without her._

 _She was a lot more than people gave her credit for, Gray realized. She wasn't just obsessed with him; Juvia was smart, beautiful, kind-hearted, caring, sweet, powerful, and deceptively easy-going. She was strong in any way shape or form, and gave everything her all. She was devoted to those she loved, and would always be willing to help out and protect those precious to her. She was ferocious when she needed to be, but to everyone she cared about, rarely were they met with anything other than a smile._

 _She was a deep, beautiful person._

" _Gray? What's got you in such deep thought?" Mira asked, poking the slight crease between his slim brows._

 _Still quite deep in his mess of thoughts, Gray offered he pretty barmaid an automatic answer in his absentmindedness. "Juvia," he said, before taking a sip of his drink._

 _Mira gasped, sharp and clear. The guild went silent. A shriek sounded at the guild doors, which caused him to spit his mouthful of cocktail all over the countertop in recognition and slight dread. Three equally foretelling factors, all three of which effectively jerked Gray out of the dangerous depths of his thoughts._

Well, shit, _he thought with no small amount of panic as he realized the gravity of his mindless words, a fierce blush spreading rapidly across his bruised cheeks. He looked up very slowly, meeting Mira's shocked gaze with trepidation. Her mouth was open in slight shock, light blue eyes wide with unbridled excitement and pure glee, petite hands gripping onto the counter edge._

 _He turned around, fingers trailing down the glass to the counter edge, only to see the majority of the present guild members staring at him with open mouths. Wakaba's cigarette fell out of his mouth. His gazed traveled to the wide open double doors, afternoon sunlight lighting up the slim, familiar figure standing in the doorway. Juvia. Her hands covered her mouth, and even from the bar counter Gray could see tears glittering in her eyes._

 _Suddenly, the skies went dark and rain began to pour down like a faucet turned on to the max multiplied by a thousand. Huh?! Gray's mouth dropped open, his not so tired mind racing to figure out what exactly caused the sudden downpour. It only unnaturally rained when Juvia was sad or angry._

" _GRAY-SAMA!" Juvia screamed, running across the guild hall. It was a scream of joy. Soon after, the guild members erupted into whispers and shouts, groans from lost bets to shouts of "I told you so" and Mira's squeal of "I was right! I knew it all along!"_

 _Gray came to realize that such incidents also happened when Juvia was overrun by a plethora of intense emotions. Well, who would've known. Gray hastily stood as the blue haired girl flung herself at him, moving to the side. Drink all but forgotten, he simply reacted, his tired, injured body be damned. He jumped over a few tables to get to the request board, snatched a random flyer and in mere seconds, was shooting out the guild doors as Juvia screeched to a halt before she crashed into the bar counter._

 _Gray spared a quick look over his shoulder. Mira stood there, an ominous glint in her eyes. When their eyes connected, she smiled innocently and waved, and Gray swore he could literally_ see _the plans she was already brewing. That never did bode well for anyone. Juvia, on the other hand, started after him._

 _Well, shit._

 _However much he wanted to get away, Gray still followed proper protocol. "Mira," he said, wildly waving the sheet of paper, "I'm taking this job! Yeah! Bye!" he shouted over his shoulder as he pulled the guild doors shut behind him to deter Juvia's onslaught of bear hugs and scary emotions._

 _He ran through the rain all the way to the train station – it had stopped by then, so someone must have calmed Juvia down – bought a ticket to Hargeon (coincidentally, it happened to be the location of the job) and in no time was slumped on a train seat, watching the boarding platform fall away as he tried to calm his pounding heart._

* * *

Now, still a little ways from Hargeon, Gray circled back to Juvia. If he was being completely honest with himself, sometime in the last few months, he had come to love the girl. Not in a romantic way, gods no, but as a friend. He cared a lot about her. Also, if he dared to admit it even in his head, Mira really sucked sometimes. And man what a mess of things he made.

Gray leaned his head against the train window, the low murmur of quiet chatter in the train carriage lulling him back into his thoughts. Juvia was special, he decided, and he didn't mind her one bit. She loved him for all that he was; strengths, looks, body, personality, magic, habits, flaws and faults all included. He had to give her at least some credit for that, because he admitted that he _was_ a rather hard person to love. _(This was totally wrong, of course, but Gray just couldn't see that he was in fact very lovable.)_

Juvia… she was quite a spectacular person indeed. His thoughts drifted once again as his tired eyes stared out at blurs of green. He was, of course, thinking about his biggest fangirl, his friend, the blue haired girl who was always there for him. He was, one could say, daydreaming about a very special water mage.

He didn't want to admit it, but everyone around him could see that Gray very much in love with Juvia, contrary to his claims. He was, after all, daydreaming about her, the one mage to have captured his heart with her own.


End file.
